I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Kishimoto-san does. If he gave me the Naruto franchise, THEN I'D OWN NARUTO!

Don't sue meh. (￣▽￣)ノ

The Alphabet with NaruHina!

T is for Timorous

Naruto: Ohayō.

Hinata: Ohayō.

Naruto: I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable yesterday.

Hinata: You didn't. I was just in a rush..

Naruto: Right well, you said you had a study spot?

Hinata: Yes, there is a bench under a tree near the train station.

Naruto: Awesome. I'll see you there after school tmr? :)

Hinata: Yes.

Naruto placed his phone down on his chest. He felt so incredibly nervous around Hinata, he swore his heart would explode from how vicious it pumped in her presence. He prayed that she didn't remember how he treated her all those years ago. He groans into his pillow.

Who the hell was he kidding? He was positive she remembered due to how timorous she acted around him. Naruto didn't want her thinking he would bully her again. He had to make some sort of gesture, something that proved he had changed. He groans even louder into his pillow.

He didn't deserve to have her as a partner. She was kind, always had been kind, and he was nothing but the screwed up Uzumaki kid. Naruto's father being the mayor of Konoha put a damper on things. Everybody tiptoed in his life, too scared to face his father or his father's "friends". Naruto stayed out of all that mess though. His mother made sure that he was never affected but it still had a hand in his social life. He sighs some more and turns over to fall asleep.

••••

Naruto found himself extremely busy the following Sunday morning. He had been at Konoha's Grocery since he was in middle school and had a good reputation with the customers. He often saw classmates come in to shop but they never paid him much mind, not that he minded nor cared. He was busy mass stocking canned goods that were on back order when the door chimed as usual. He pays no mind until a can rolls out from under his grasp.

"Shit.." Naruto murmurs as he chased after the running can. A delicate hand beats him to it. He looks up into pale lavender eyes and finds himself lost. She was wearing a pair of dark shorts that showed her smooth legs off and a purple halter top that accentuated her figure. Dumbfounded and clearly staring, Naruto clears his throat. It was Hinata. She offers the can back to him which he slowly took with a small 'thank you'.

"Did you..need help with anything?" Naruto asks as he placed the can on the shelf. Hinata flushed and shook her head.

"Gomen..I..I didn't know you worked here." She adds quietly.

"Yeah, that's cause I'm probably on my break when you come in." Naruto chuckles as he lies through his teeth. He often saw Hinata coming to the store and he'd watch and stare at her from a distance. He only ever saw her traditional hime cut and the back of her head as she shopped around. He was too ashamed to ever face her as he was now.

"I see." Hinata looked around at everything but him. She eventually bows slightly and turns to walk down another isle.

"S-see you tomorrow!" Naruto quickly says within earshot. Hinata turns slightly and waves before disappearing.

She sure was fast.

••••

"Would you like to eat lunch with me?" Hinata asks as Naruto replaced his ramen with a book inside his locker. He froze and stuttered,

"Y-yeah I mean..I could eat, ya know?" They walked down the hall and into the bustling cafeteria. Hinata led them to a table in the middle of space, much less comfortable for Naruto's tastes.

It had been a few days into their project and the awkwardness had mostly passed. Hinata made it a point to focus on the project majority of the time. Naruto would offer her snacks and make small talk through text but she was mostly curt; to the point and aloof. Her lunch invite caught him off guard but he couldn't lie to himself and say he wasn't excited.

"Hina-chan~!" Someone calls. The newcomer stops short at the sight of the blonde boy. She was an inch taller than Hinata sporting long dark hair that fell to her back. She wore the traditional navy sailor dress with a red handkerchief around her collar and brown loafers. It was Oshiro Mitsuko. Naruto hadn't seen her much since school started besides in passing.

When did she get so scary looking?

"Oi oi oi…what the hell is he doing here?!" She asks in a fit of rage. Her face contorts into a deep scowl, her eyes as dark as night.

"Calm yourself Suko-chan." Hinata pleads. "I asked him to join us." Mitsuko stumbles on her next words before turning completely red in the face and opting to stay silent.

She grumbled and sat directly across from Naruto who could only look at his ramen that was suddenly super interesting. "Uhm.."

"Naruto!" He looks up to see Shikamaru and Choji coming with a tray of food. They sat down much to the chagrin of Mitsuko who could only silently fume.

"Who are your new friends?" Choji asks.

"This is..uh..Hinata. And..Mitsuko." Naruto mumbles out.

"The Hyūga girl! We have math together." Choji adds as he excitedly shakes her hand.

Hinata smiles and nods shyly.

"You wouldn't have happened to had done the homework..?" Shikamaru bumps Choji's shoulder in a scolding manner.

"Baka, you don't ask girls for their homework."

"Aw, why not?"

"Because that's weird.." Shikamaru sighs.

Choji slammed his hand on the table and turned defensively in Shikamaru's direction who kept eating as if the whole interaction bored him. "Well I'd ask you but you haven't done it!"

"Because doing homework is such a drag Choji, we've been over this." Shikamaru sighs once more.

Mitsuko's shoulders shook. Naruto apprehensively put his chopsticks down. He braced himself for her angry outburst but was instead met with laughter.

"You guys are funny." She comments. "And if you must know, the homework isn't due until Friday so I suggest you get started on it."

"Wait- you're in the class too?!" Choji asks exasperated.

Naruto smiles to himself as they continued talking. He looks up to see Hinata staring at him. He flushed and looked elsewhere. His eyes catch the gaze of someone who was also watching him though. Naruto's smile fades and is replaced by irritation.

••••

It was now officially club rush. Clubs stationed booths in the courtyard, hung flyers all over campus, and promised all kinds of fun perks by being a member. None of that interested Naruto though, and nobody was interested in having the corrupted mayor's son as part of their club either.

It was a hot day after school as the blonde boy made his way towards the public garden. It was a secluded space near the track that had a garden outside and a green house that was always locked up. Naruto offered to take care of the area and thus was awarded the keys back in his first year. He had all sorts of veggies and fruits growing ranging from turnips to lettuce and strawberries. He enjoyed the peace, the silence that came with gardening.

There was nobody who he would be a burden to.

A group of rowdy boys rounded the corner. They were in the midst of a conversation that Naruto could care less about till their attentions turned to him. "Ain't that the Uzumaki kid?" One boy said.

"Oh shit you're right, I haven't seen him in awhile." It was then that they began to walk over. Naruto stopped his work as a shadow was casted over him. He looks up to see someone who he recognized as an Uchiha.

"What do you want." Naruto asks as he absentmindedly goes back to pulling turnips up.

"Is that any way to treat an old friend, Naruto?" He froze at the sound of his voice. Uchiha Sasuke pushed to the front of the group and held a smirk as he looked down at Naruto.

"Sasuke.."

"In the flesh,"

"Tch..!" Naruto grits his teeth and controlled his rage. The last time he had seen Sasuke was last year after they had gotten into a squabble that ended with Naruto leaving a nasty bruise on his face. "I don't feel like dealing with you today so just piss off."

"Oi..watch how you talk to Sasuke-kun!" One of the other boys threatens.

"Now now, no need to be hostile." Sasuke offers coolly. "Naruto here is an old friend, so treat him as such."

Something snapped right then in Naruto's mind. Sasuke was not his friend and any chance they had at rekindling things ended a long time ago. Rising to his feet, he dusted dirt off onto his hands and squared his shoulders.

"We aren't friends."

"Are you still mad about that joke last year?" Sasuke chuckles and claps a hand on his shoulder. "I told you- it was-"

Naruto slapped his hand and gave him a light shove.

"Don't fucking act like we're best friends! You abandoned me years ago and then when I try to fix it; you played me!"

"Oh yeah? That's because I'd never want to associate with a loser like you!" Sasuke shoves Naruto into a flower bed. Naruto is quick to recover and grabs him by the collar only to headbutt him right in the nose.

The other Uchiha boys grab him as Sasuke stumbles and recovers from the assault. Naruto struggles to get out of their grasp. He could only watch as Sasuke wiped at his nose and had blood on his hand. "Let him go." He commands.

They have a stare down, neither backing down from the other. Naruto clenched his fist and prepared for whatever Sasuke had coming. But to his surprise the Uchiha shook his head and murmured that he was going home.

"Fucking loser.."

••••

His mood was sour and his day had gone to hell. His head was pounding from the nasty bump he gave Sasuke a few hours ago. Naruto found himself roaming the empty halls of Konoha no Hi High School. Most clubs had either ended or were ending. He enjoyed the silence once more and was in his head more than ever.

Sasuke..

Uchiha Sasuke had gone and ruined his day by being his normal asshole self. Naruto didn't know what was even up with him. They used to be best friends, long before elementary school. But then things got tense and after Hinata left school, Sasuke had completely ostracized him. Even in middle school things were still weird and Naruto finally made the push to fix their friendship during his first year at Konoha High. It was all a lie.

He was left alone in the end.

Naruto felt his heart ache. He gripped his chest and leaned against the wall. He felt constricted and it was hard to breathe all of a sudden. A door opens to his left and out walks Hinata. She smiles and bows to the group of girls she was with before turning to leave. Naruto felt his chest pain alleviate at the sight. He had never seen her smile, at least never that wide. Upon seeing him she froze. Her smile wasn't as cheerful as before but she waved at him anyways before departing down the stairs.

Naruto felt his face become warm. She was so..dare he say it..pretty. She was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. The prettiest girl who he knew. The prettiest in the entire world. Naruto slapped his hands over his cheeks. He couldn't think like that, not after bullying her. But damn it, why was his heart beating so fast?

Why did she have to be so damn cute?

woooooo. hello everybody, i apologize for the delay. again, school is beating me up so working on the final chapter has been a bit harder than usual. i pinkie swear, i will finish the alphabet come december! i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please keep R&R it makes my day and makes me feel gulity lol. the guilt will make me update.

background facts;

so much happened in this chapter so bare with me;

this is the reader's first time seeing sasuke since the beginning of the book. i wanted to convey his relationship with naruto as tense as possible by taking elements from Shippuden and incorporating them here. we will see sasuke again!

the final scene in the chapter is naruto realizing how he views hinata since they've been lab partners.. his crush has officially manifested.

mitsuko and naruto officially meeting once again was slightly brushed over, but it will be addressed later. the biggest takeaway with their interaction was shikamaru and choji joining them for lunch because now the "group" as started to form.

much love,,